


tired of giving up the ghost

by isloremipsumafterall



Category: Mass Effect Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Hunters, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-31
Updated: 2017-10-31
Packaged: 2019-01-27 11:38:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12581036
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/isloremipsumafterall/pseuds/isloremipsumafterall
Summary: Ashley just thought this would be a routine ghost hunt until she meets Kaidan who's really not the malicious spirit she was expecting.





	tired of giving up the ghost

The first thing Ashley noticed when she opened the trunk of her car was that she was almost out of rock salt and would have to visit Steve to replenish her supplies soon. It’d be a pain but it was hard to find vendors who dealt with “supernatural bullshit”. Ashley methodically checked over her shotgun with a sigh, she hadn’t planned on dragging herself out on Halloween of all nights when prank calls came in all the time but Shepard had personally asked her to check this out.

 

He’d been meaning to but had gotten caught up with rumours of a swamp creature down south and taken Thane – a part swamp creature himself – if he needed negotiations.

 

The house she was parked in front of certainly looked like a normal house, it sat in the middle of the suburbs in a section of Vancouver, with new bricks and nothing out of the ordinary that made it seem haunted.

 

Ashley knew that looks were deceiving though. She raised one hand to clutch the crucifix pendant she always wore that her father had given her. She’d worn it all through her military career, it’d survived gunshots and fire alongside her and before every battle she’d issued a prayer. When she came back to the states and took over her father’s business of hunting supernatural creatures she continued the practice, letting her faith guide her.

 

“All right,” Ashley took a deep breath and stared up at the house, “Let’s see what you’ve got.”

 

She stepped inside using a skeleton key that Kasumi had given her for last Christmas and shut the door behind her. The floor creaked underneath her feet but she didn’t pay any mind to it, heading straight towards the stairs. The reports from the last family that had lived there had said that all the strange noises had come from the attic. Of course those reports had also claimed they’d come down one morning to find bacon cooking on the stove and no one claimed it.

 

“Guess you’re fitting a Canadian stereotype.” Ashley said out loud as she crept up the stairs. “If I say please would you disappear?” She asked rhetorically.

 

“Depends.” A voice said next to her ear, raspy and a little whispery but clear nonetheless, “Is that shotgun for me?”

 

Ashley turned on the balls of her feet, pointing the gun in mid air.

 

“Whoa, whoa, guess that answer’s yes.” It seemingly came from midair but as Ashley squinted she could faintly make out a ghostly outline. It was harder for them to appear during the day granted but she’d hoped to scope the place out and get ready for the ghost at night.

 

Rock salt pellets mixed with iron would still pack a punch to it though if push came to shove. By the slightly nervous laugh the ghost issued though Ashley was doubting it would.

 

She pulled her gun back, ready to fire at a moments notice still, “I don’t suppose that ‘please’ is still on the table.”

 

She got the impression the ghost was shrugging, “I’d leave if I knew how. I’ve kinda been stuck here.”

 

“Well I might be able to help you with that one.” Ashley replied, she relaxed a little now that she could tell this wasn’t a malevolent spirit. “How’d you die.”

 

“Last thing I remember was coming in here to save a kid. The house was on fire.” The ghost raised a hand, just barely visible, to run it through his hair. He was half in the shadows where it was clearer to see his spectral form which made for an amusing visual.

 

“That checks out.” Ashley said and tucked her gun away, the ghost hadn’t lied to her. The background check she’d done that claimed the haunting occurred after the house fire was in line with it.

 

“Wow, testing out a ghost.” The spectral crossed his arms, leaning against the wall and though she couldn’t see his face she knew he was frowning at her by his tone.

 

“Hey, I had to make sure you weren’t malicious.” Ashley shrugged, “You can never tell in my line of work. Plus the strange noises thing from the reports didn’t mention if they were angry or not.”

 

“I was remembering.” The ghost defended himself, “It was…hard…those memories coming back.”

 

Ashley felt a tug of pity and sat on the stairs, motioning for the ghost to sit next to her. “Do you…remember your name?

 

There was a pause from him. “Kaidan. That’s it though.”

 

“Kaidan Alenko.” Ashley offered, “You were in the marines.”

 

“Yeah I remembered some of that. Bits and pieces here and there. Mostly I just remembered the fire.” Kaidan sounded lost in those thoughts.

 

“Most ghosts will. It’s the memory that ties you to this world. But you did a good thing.” Ashley assured him, “You saved the kid.”

 

“That’s something.”

 

“And then you scared the next kid that moved in.” She continued in a slightly teasing voice. “Did you really make bacon one day?”

 

“I felt hungry.” If Kaidan had skin he might have been flushing. “I wasn’t thinking well.”

 

Ashley frowned, her eyes narrowing at the air next to her where Kaidan resided. “You _felt_ hungry?”

 

“At first. It went away.” The shadows had fallen over Kaidan’s face, making him more visible to Ashley’s eyes. He was scratching idly at his cheek in thought. “Why’s that important?”

 

“Ghosts don’t feel.” Ashley said rather bluntly. “You’re just a spectral form, any emotions you think you have aren’t real.”

 

“I feel real.” Kaidan said softly after a moment. “Not…I mean not physical.” He squeezed his hands into fists and rested them on his knees. “I just…feel here.”

 

Ashley fought the urge to clutch her crucifix and ask what to do. Suddenly she felt very much out of her element. She’d helped ghosts come to terms with their death before but feelings like how Kaidan was saying them was something else.

 

“Stay here.” She ordered, “I need to make a call.”

 

“Aye aye captain.” Kaidan snorted, doing a half salute.

 

“That’s Lieutenant Commander to you.” Ashley joked, smiling a little as she walked out. She felt bad just leaving Kaidan there but she needed to confirm something. She moved to the kitchen area to give herself some privacy.

 

The phone rang four times before Liara picked up on the other end. She sounded out of breath and had probably had to dig for her phone through piles of papers. “Ashley,” Liara greeted her brightly.

 

“Liara.” Ashley greeted back. “Sorry to make this quick but I’m on a case.”

 

“Of course.” Instantly Liara’s tone shifted and she sounded every inch the ready researcher that Ashley knew her as. “What it is it?”

 

“I’ve got a ghost, but…he says he can feel.”

 

“And you believe him?” Liara asked and Ashley winced feeling slightly foolish.

 

“It’s just this gut feeling I have.”

 

“Ah so you’ve got a feeling back about this ghost.” Liara paused and Ashley could practically see the amused smile on her face. “Is he cute?”

 

“I’m pretending you didn’t say that.” Ashley said drily. “Is there anything about this in your records? On ghosts who can feel?”

 

Liara hummed, “There is one case. You know him actually.”

 

“Shepard?” Ashley scoffed, “He wasn’t really dead- oh.” She stopped herself there and glanced back to the doorway that led to the stairs.

 

“Perhaps the same circumstances have occurred to your spectral friend.”

 

Ashley dragged a hand over her face and sighed, “All right, how do I fix this then.”

 

“Either kill him all the way. Or do what Miranda did. Bring him back.”

 

“Not all of us are necromancy experts.” Ashley grumbled, “Thanks Liara. I’ll call Miranda.” She hung up after Liara’s goodbye and rested her hands on the kitchen counter. Considering her options. It wasn’t her choice really though, she thought as she looked at the doorway again.

 

She straightened up and stepped through it, looking for Kaidan on the stairs. It had gotten darker already despite that it was still the afternoon and Kaidan’s form was clearer. It was easy to see his face was scrunched up in pain and he was leaning heavily on his elbows which rested on his knees.

 

“Kaidan?” Ashley nearly pulled out her shotgun in worry that Kaidan was switching from the genial ghost she’d just met to a more torturous one.

 

“It’s just a migraine.” Kaidan said through gritted teeth. “I’ve had them all my life. Well,” He lifted his head and his lips quirked upwards in an ironic smile, “My death too it seems.”

 

That settled it for Ashley, ghosts as she knew them would never get migraines like this. Kaidan was partially still alive.

 

~~

 

Miranda was quick and thorough in her instructions as to what Ashley needed to do.

 

“You’re in luck.” She said over the phone to Ashley, “Halloween night will make it easier to pull him back.”

 

“Even though there’s no body?” Ashley wasn’t much for witchcraft like Miranda or Samara were. Most of this flew over her head but she was the only one available now to do it so it was in her court.

 

“If he has enough of a tangible form that he’s feeling migraines that’s enough to reform his body.” Miranda didn’t even hesitated, so sure in her explanation.

 

“All right, I’ll call you if I need to.”

 

“One thing before you go – sometimes the body doesn’t respond properly. You may have to shock it.”

 

“Like with a defibrillator?” She wondered if she had time to steal one from a hospital.

 

“No, just something that would shock them – get their blood pumping.”

 

From the background Ashley heard Jack make several crude suggestions and hung up before she could hear another Miranda and Jack fight. Why those two lived together she had no idea.

 

She walked back into the den where she’d left Kaidan to think about what she had told him. While she had everything ready it was still up to him if he wanted to come back.

 

He looked miserable, sitting in a chair and contemplating. She walked over and dragged a chair out next to him, falling into it with an audible thump.

 

“What if it doesn’t work?” Kaidan asked, breaking the silence.

 

Ashley held in her sigh, “I’ll take care of it.” She said, trying to sound more sure than she felt.

 

“What would you choose?” Kaidan turned to look at her, the house was almost completely dark now, only a few candles illuminated them. If she tilted her head she could swear she could see colour in his cheeks.

 

“I…” She paused, thinking slowly. “I’d think there’s a reason for it. That God wanted me to still do something. I’d have faith.”

 

Kaidan smiled, “Guess I need to have some faith too.”

 

She moved to pat his shoulder but stopped before her hand could go through it. “Don’t worry Major,” She used the rank he used to have, “I’ve got enough faith for the both of us. Besides.” She grinned at him. “If you come back you can actually eat the bacon you cook.”

 

“Now there’s an offer.”

 

~~

 

They waited until night fell completely to start the ritual to bring Kaidan back. He couldn’t tough the salts without burning so he stood sheepishly in the middle of the room while Ashley completed circle after circle around him of various substances.

 

Chakwas had promised if there was an emergency that Samara could make a portal for them and they’d come through but currently she was trying to help Garrus who had taken a nasty ghoul bite to his cheek.

 

“Ready?” She asked, taking a breath to steady herself.

 

“Well I haven’t died from waiting yet.” Kaidan quipped, grinning at Ashley to defuse some of the tension and she was grateful for it.

 

Miranda had recorded the incantation for her and sent her an audio file, she had been certain it would work in the format, what mattered was that she was heard not that she was physically there.

 

Ashley clicked play on her phone and let Miranda’s voice fill the room. The circles of salts slowly began to rose around Kaidan and he eyed them nervously but didn’t move.

 

She wasn’t sure what happened after that, they got to the end of the recording and there was a flash of light as the circles became smaller around Kaidan. It temporarily blinded her and she opened her eyes Kaidan was lying there in a heap.

 

She dropped her phone and rushed forward, resting a hand on his now solid shoulder. He wasn’t responding, just like Miranda had warned might happen.

 

“Please God let this work.” She prayed and then leaned forward and kissed Kaidan, in the heat of the moment it was the only thing she could think of beyond pouring a bucket of ice water on him. It was like a jolt of electricity snapped between them and she nearly yelped, pulling back as Kaidan rose up and gasped for air.

 

“You did it.” Kaidan said, his voice still raspy in a way that Ashley realized wasn’t his being a ghost and was just how he sounded.

 

“Don’t sell yourself short, Major.” She laughed, leaning back on her hands. “You did a little.”

 

Kaidan snorted and ran a hand through his hair, he looked like he was about to say something when his stomach grumbled loudly. “You know I think you promised me a meal.” Kaidan said and stood up, offering Ashley a hand.

 

“Actually I think I promised you could cook it.” Ashley retorted as she took his hand and let herself be pulled up. They stood there for a minute, grinning wildly at each other. “So, what do you think you’re going to do next?”

 

Kaidan blinked, “Hunh. Hadn’t thought of that. I guess I’m technically dead to the rest of the world.”

 

“In my line of work it happens.” Ashley assured him. She looked him over and smiled slowly, “I could always use a partner.”

 

“How’s the pay?”

 

“Terrible, but the company’s not bad.” Ashley nudged him lightly with her shoulder. “You will have to put up with at least one zombie bit from Joker though.”

 

“I’ll live.” Kaidan laughed.

 

“Come on,” She grabbed his hand to lead him out, “Let’s go get you some food before you fade away again.”

 

“If I start will you kiss me again?” Kaidan raised an eyebrow at her when she glanced back at him.

 

She smirked, “If you’re lucky maybe I’ll think about it.”

 

 


End file.
